Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-06-21
CONINIENCEM ENT.
The BaccaIaureate Sermon by the WASH
JEFF. President.
S,s,;oJ T,lls0r1,g IN me PCTiyiSr

The BaccaIaureate Sermon by the WASH
JEFF. President.
Special Telegram to The Register.
WASHINGTON, PA, June 19.-COm-
mencement was opened brilliantly to-day.
The Baccalaureate sermon WAS delivered
this morning in the First Presbyterian
Church, on College street, by the Rev. Jas.
ID. Moflatt, ID. D., President OF Wash
jeff. College, formerly of the Second Pres
byterian Church of Wheeling The church
began to ill ut 10 o'clock and in half an
hour every available seat was occupied and
the ushers began filling the aisles with
chairs. A few minutes before II the thirty
young men, the graduating class of this
year, marched up the left aisle and took
seats Immediately in front Of the pulpit.
The music WAS furnished by the choir of
the First Church in All affecting manner,
After prayer by the Rev. VIM. 5.
Knight, of the Washington class OF 80,
DIR. MOflatt stepped forward and delivered
a mastery discourse. 1t was just forty
five minutes in length and was character
lied by clear and lorCible logic and clear
illustration.
The Baccalureate Sermon by President
Moffat was on the text, John 1913; and
this is life eternal, that they might know
thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent"
The text was considered as assigning to
the faculty of knowing the place of high
est importance rs compared with the places
of the other faculties of manfeeling and
willing This order was defended aS the
true order TO he observed in education,
the order to be regarded in estimating
moral action and character, and the order
in which the highest possible develop
ment OF the soul through its religious life
was attainable 1t was claimed that the
direct development Of the intellect rs
aimed at by our common systems of edu-
cation resulted indirectly in the develop
ment OF the educational nature and will
power, and that instead of the education
Ofthe emotions and of will-pOwer being
overlooked and slighted, rs 80 often as
serted, there is no better way of securing
their best cultivation. In morals acts
alone were not sufficient criteTia OfmOTal
conduct and character, but regard must
be had to the feelings impelling to action
and particularly to the moral judgments
lying back of both feeling and act. The
traditiOnaliSm which Christ condemned so
Sternly made the radical error of ignoring
personal convictions. TO consider IN act
right for no other reason than that our
ancestors have taught us TO perform it is
equivalent to dethroning the intellect rs
the rightful arbiteT in moral questions. To
perform acts right enough in themselves
solely because commanded by our ancestry
to perform them has no higher virtue than
respect for the fathers; it falls short OF
morality. 1t is the height of virtue at
tanned centuries ago by the Chinese. In
religion, too, the highest life attainable by
man has it's source in acts of the in,
tellect. Deeds OF service are indispensable,
right feelings, such rs trust, hope, and love
are essential; hut the deeds must be per
formed because of intelligent conviction
that they accord with the known will OF
God, and the feelings must have their
source in what we know of God.
Attention was next directed to the OBJ,
ject 10 be knOwn-CiOd in Christ.
The position was taken that it is nc
longer necessary TO maintain the possible
ity of such knowledge "a against agnOs.
ticism, because the great leaders, Spencer
and Fiske, cOncede that God is so far
movable as He has manifested himself in
the universe, which is all that can be
claimed for natural theology. Il was con-
sidered hopeful sign of the times that
pure rationalism, unfettered by tradition
or regard for authority, fear of God or re-
gard for man, had reached the conclusion
on metaphysical grounds that the ulti
mate reality must be regarded as existent,
eternal power, the source of moral law
and revealing himself to man, even though
the manifestation he partial and symbol
cal. For if God has manifested himself
partially, no reason can be urged in philOs
Ophy against the possibility of a more com
plete revelation such rs the Christian
claims, whether the additional revelation
has been made.Or not is q question in his
tory with which philosophy has nothing Il
do.
The tendency of modern thought, boil
philosophic and theolOgic, to claim tina
God makes himself directly known to hu
man consciousness was next dwelt upon
and illustrations were given to show tn
nature OF and grounds for the claim that
as there is q sense by which we know th
external world, so there is q sense b.
which we might apprehend God, even th